Netflix Missed Out On Clarkson But Just Landed A Bigger Gearhead Star

When the BBC sacked Jeremy Clarkson many people assumed he and his “Top Gear” co-hosts would end up on Netflix. It was a bit of a shock when Amazon won the bidding war for the trio, at least around these parts. Despite missing out on Clarkson and Co. Netflix wasn’t ready to drop out of the business of comedic car shows just yet. Variety is reporting that Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” is coming to Netflix. The streaming service will offer all the show’s old episodes and has ordered an additional 24 new ones.

In addition to getting “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” Seinfeld will also film two standup specials for Netflix. (If you ask us those are what the company was really after.) The new episodes will air on Netflix late 2017. No word on when the 59 episodes which have already aired will be available to stream on the platform. Currently the automotive talk show is available on Crackle, a Sony-backed video streaming service. Sony is a major company with deep pockets but it was likely unwilling to compete with however much money Netflix offered Seinfeld. The iconic comedian seems excited by the move, saying in a statement that, “I am really quite charged up to be moving there.”

“Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” is not nearly in the same league as “Top Gear” or “The Grand Tour” when it comes to viewership, although the move to a network with a bigger name may help the show on that front. What it does have going for it is star power. Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most iconic comedians in the business and each episode features a major Hollywood celebrity. It’s no Clarkson, Hammond and May but Netflix has to be happy with this get. Regardless of who works where this is good news for gearheads. More car shows with ungodly budgets behind them is never a bad thing.